


Lip Gloss

by SewerWitch



Category: Dr. STONE (Anime), Dr. STONE (Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Teenagers, Bottom!Xeno, Discord: The Kingdom of Shipping (Dr. STONE), Eventual Smut, First Kiss, Fluff, High School, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rating May Change, TKS, Teenage Dorks, TheKingdomofShipping, later chapters will be explicit, top!Stanley
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2020-07-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:13:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25558660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SewerWitch/pseuds/SewerWitch
Summary: Xeno finds a tube of lip gloss in Stanley's car, prompting a series of questions that leads to Stanley finding himself hooked up to a makeshift lie detector. Maybe Stanley can turn this around, and make the afternoon go in his favor...(a quick series - later chapters will contain smut, you have been warned)
Relationships: Stanley Snyder/Dr. Xeno
Comments: 12
Kudos: 76





	Lip Gloss

**Author's Note:**

> hey Hi hello 
> 
> never expected to be writing fluff but here i am!  
> This isn't really an AU, just me wanting to imagine Xeno and Stan in their younger years, waaaay before petrification ever happened~ I love imagining Stanley as quite the rowdy type of teen.
> 
> warning: if I continue this, later chapters will have smut! This wouldn't be very long, quick little series of perhaps 3 chapters max.

* * *

  
Detention... was a drag. 

Not that this was any new knowledge to anyone. Stanley had never met someone who came into the after school detention classes with a smile. Such things were saved when the teacher could finally announce they could leave, and Stanley could finally start making his way out to the student parking lot. As per usual, he gave a cheeky grin and a wave to the teacher as he walked out the classroom door, an act that would usually cause the teacher to throw more reprimands to him about 'taking this more seriously'. Detention for him was becoming a near daily thing.

It really wasn't that big of a deal. The freshmen wanted some cigarettes and Stan could always benefit from some extra cash. He had a fake ID and a shady friend at the local smoke shop, so getting more would be a breeze. Honestly, at least these kids were getting name brand cigarettes and not stuff rolled by some strangers, filled with god knows what. He was doing them a  _ favor _ . 

The school was eerily empty at that hour, as it always was after detention got out, save for a few other classmates quickly heading to their cars or starting their walk home. Even many of the teachers had vanished. 

It only made his friend stand out more - sitting on the front steps of their school, face nose down in a book and messy pale blonde hair nearly covering his eyes. Stanley gave a deep sigh at the sight, the only way Xeno would be here right would be because he decided to wait for Stanley to get out of detention. 

"You didn't have to wait," Stanley said, walking up behind Xeno. His friend's shoulders jolted a bit, body turning and dark eyes sending him a quick glare. 

"And you," Xeno started, closing his book and standing, turning to face Stanley fully, "didn't need to sell cigarettes behind the school gym. But," he placed his book into his bag, flashing a smile up to Stanley, "we both tend to make bad choices." 

Stanley rolled his eyes, breathing in a deep sigh, beginning his trek down the stairs and towards the school parking lot. He could hear footsteps quickly trailing behind him, Xeno soon coming to his side. 

"You also said you would drive me home." 

"Ah," Stanley stopped for a moment, giving a groan as continued. "Shit, right. Sorry. You could have just gone to the car, though." 

"And... what?" Xeno looked at him from the side, "stand outside it?" 

"It has no top? It's a convertible, man, just hop in. It's not like the alarm works." Stanley heard his friend give a sigh and gave a small chuckle himself. Xeno wasn't the type to just hop over a car door, anyway. Odds were, if he had walked to the car alone, he would have leaned against it until Stanley finally got out. 

Stanley's car was one of the few left out in the parking lot. Convertibles were usually the sort of car you would view as an expensive stylistic choice. This convertible... was honestly a piece of shit, an old hand-me-down from a relative who simply couldn't deal with it anymore. Most of Stanley's paychecks would go into this thing just to keep it running. But it was still a decent car, at least for getting him around town, or back and forth between home and school. 

The car's keys jingled softly in Stanley's hands as he pulled them from his pocket, separating from Xeno as he made his way to the driver's side, Xeno making it to the passenger side and opening the door.

"What's this...?" Xeno's voice made Stanley stall, glancing over the car to him, watching as Xeno picked up a small red and black tube from the passenger seat. A lip gloss of some sort, too thin to be lipstick, but the red tip to the tube must have meant it was for lips.

"Ah," Stanley made the small noise, not entirely sure where it had come from at first glance, but the memories of his previous night came flooding back to him with a crashing wave. "Ah!" he said again, with much more energy, quickly circling around the front of his car and over to Xeno. He plucked the small lip gloss tube from Xeno's hands, leaning against his car with a sideways grin. "I guess she must have left it in the car." 

Xeno's eyes began to narrow beneath the fringe of his hair, eyebrows low. "She...?" He questioned, dark orbs studying Stanley's every move. 

Stanley twisted at the red end of the tube, soon plucking it off to reveal a reddened applicator. The artificial fruity smell of the lip gloss was almost potent, filling the space between them. "Just some chick," Stanley said then, doing his best not to let his grin grow wider and shadier. 

"Some...  _ chick _ ," Xeno repeated Stanley's words, slowly and methodical, like trying to understand why on earth a girl would leave some lipstick in Stanley's car. He gave a nod then, lowering his head, not pushing the subject any further. 

Which was...  _ not  _ the desired outcome at all. Xeno was supposed to freak out, or at least give a pout. Lecture Stan on letting strangers into his car, or even getting bent out of shape about hooking up with random girls. Stanley slowly closed the fruity lip gloss, unable now to see Xeno's expression with how long his bangs had gotten. He wasn't trying to upset him - just joke around with him. He'd have to try and alleviate the tension somehow. 

"Hey," Stanley pocketed the lip gloss beside the pack of cigarettes, taking another step forward to Xeno, reaching out to tug a bit at the boy's bangs. "Ever think about getting a haircut? How can you even read your massive textbooks with this mop over your eyes..."  _ Okay _ , teasing him a bit probably wasn't the best way to make the mood better, but something about Xeno always made it so  _ easy  _ to tease. 

Xeno stepped back with a loud huff, shaking his hair from Stanley's grasp. "I can see just fine, thank you." 

"Uh huh," Stanley raised an eyebrow, "ever thought about slicking back your hair?" He took another step forward, his hands beginning to raise, "I have some hair gel at home." Before Xeno could stop him, Stanley tucked his hands beneath Xeno's fringe, fingers gliding through his hair as Stanley pushed the hair back and out of his face, finally fully revealing his eyes. 

"St-stop that!" Xeno's hands shot up, grabbing at Stanley's wrists, though nothing about his grip was strong enough to stop Stanley from continuing. 

"Hmm?" Stanley only hummed to Xeno's complaints, running his hands back and forth, catching stray strands. "I think it looks nice this way. At least I can see your face for once." 

Xeno stayed still, his free-of-hair face was much easier to read now, his irritation obvious. "Last thing I need right now is more snide comments from everyone else."

Another hum came from Stanley, "yeah? 'bout what?" Stanley knew full well what it was about. Xeno was usually the target of bullying from other kids, and the boy would sometimes complain about not liking his wide forehead. Stanley never saw it as a means to tease, though. Somehow, it always made Xeno look so... non-threatening? Innocent? Either way, it was cute. "I like it this way," Stanley said, trying to give Xeno a soft smile. Maybe he'd get the hint. He was  _ trying  _ to compliment him. 

Stanley stepped back then, hands falling from Xeno's hair. As soon as Xeno could, his own hands shot up, quick to mess it up again, his dark eyes soon covered once again by his long fringe. 

"Well," Xeno said, his voice dripping with annoyance, "I  _ don't _ . Can we just go home...?" 

Okay - he didn't get it. That was fine. "Sure," Stanley said with a grin, pulling out the lip gloss. "But first..." he trailed off, pulling out the reddened applicator, glancing to Xeno to see his friend blinking slowly, entirely unsure where this was going. A grin pulled at the corner of Stanley's lips, placing the wet tip against his bottom lip, unable to avoid breathing in that fruity aroma. 

Xeno's reaction was immediate, one that Stanley was prepared for this time. "What are you doing?!" He stepped closer, hands trying to grab again at Stanley's wrists, but far from able to stop Stanley's movements. "Do you even  _ really  _ know who that belongs to? Is it used? You can't just share-- what if they had cold sores?!" 

Stanley shrugged it off, bottom lip done, getting some more of the glossy liquid on the applicator before pressing it to his top lip. 

"You're putting yourself at risk for HSV-1, and even  _ worse  _ what if they had streptococcal pharyngitis, or mono--" Xeno paused then, his face looking upwards, quickly lost in a thought, "did you have chicken pox when we were in elementary school? I can't rememb--" 

Xeno's words were cut off as Stanley took both of his cheeks into his hands. He would have gone on for hours if Stanley allowed it. "Take this as an apology for making you wait for me." Before Xeno could complain, Stanley pushed back his hair once more, revealing Xeno's forehead and placing a single kiss near his temple. He followed it by another, then another, Xeno's entire body completely still in his hands, frozen as Stanley covered his forehead in a number of quick kisses. Each kiss showed up red and pink against Xeno's skin, slowly going more transparent as the lip gloss thinned, Stanley's final kiss not leaving a mark at all. 

"There," he said then, proud of his piece of art, pulling back and grinning down at Xeno. His friend stared back at him, dark eyes wide with knitted brows, cheeks tinted a dark shade of pink, mouth slightly open but not making a sound. Stanley began to grin wider, "See? Now you have a reason to keep your hair back. It's just easier to ki--" 

He stopped then, seeing Xeno's wide eyes begin to scrunch up, his lips pursing together as tears began to swell in the corners of his eyes. Before Stanley could let go, Xeno had ripped his face away from Stanley's hands, pushing past both Stanley and his car. 

"Hey...?!" Stanley turned, following behind his friend, "where are you going?!" 

Xeno's arm was high, wiping at his cheeks and eyes, "I'm walking home!" 

"What--" Stanley looked back to his car, "that's a good hour walk? I said I'd take you, why are you suddenly running off?!" It was a joke...!  _ Well _ , it was a bit more than a joke, but Xeno's reaction was once again something Stanley wasn't prepared for. 

But Xeno wasn't stopping, his hands raising to once again mess up his hair. "Doing something like...  _ that! _ " The hurt in Xeno's voice was there, his voice seeming to shudder with his words, "with the lipstick of some random fling...?" 

"Whoa,  _ whoa- _ " Stanley hurried his steps now, easily catching up to Xeno, grabbing at his arm and stopping Xeno in his tracks. Xeno did stop, though as he turned he shot a deep glare back at Stanley, one that showed the true intensity of those dark eyes. It was times like these when the exhaustion in Xeno's face truly showed, the dark bags beneath his eyes worsened by the red tint caused by recent tears. But, now was not the time to berate him on his sleeping schedules. 

"Look, I was just playing with you" Stanley started, letting go of Xeno's arm but holding his hands up before him, as if begging Xeno to stay put. He reached down then to dig back out the lip gloss tube, waving it around in his hand, "I had to play driver for my damn aunt and her college friends last night, driving them to some party at a bar. She was drunk off her ass... honestly they  _ all  _ were, and I think this just fell out of one of their bags." 

Xeno looked to the black tube in Stanley's hands, brows furrowing at the object before looking back to Stanley, an eyebrow slowly arching, "you were lying, then? Why?" 

Stanley answered with a grumble in his voice, shoving the lip gloss back into his pocket, "I don't know. It seemed like a good idea at the time. I was just trying to kid around with you." 

"Pretty bad attempt at a joke," Xeno said, his voice painfully flat. 

Stanley gave a sigh then, looking down at his friend. With Stanley's other school friends, most of them a crew of rowdy boys and a few girls, it was something that would have been laughed at, his back patted, a few of them asking how far he got or if the girl put out. Xeno, though, wasn't like them. Not even a tiny bit. "Yeah," he said then, shoulder's slumping as he shoved both of his hands into his coat pockets, "I should have known better." 

Xeno stared back up at Stanley, his gaze curious and studying Stanley's expression, "you're not lying now...?" 

"Nope, honest truth." It really was. The request came from Stanley's mother, who was busy with her own job that night. Just drive his aunt to and from their little party. There was a perk to it, though, in the form of some cash handed his way afterwards. 

Xeno's mouth opened to reply to Stanley, though he closed it quickly afterwards, face low and finger to his chin as he thought. Stanley didn't bother him, waiting patiently for his friend to come to whatever conclusion he was processing, hoping that this whole ordeal could be put behind them as quickly as possible. Xeno was  _ supposed  _ to blush cutely, get huffy and complain about germs, and then Stanley would poke at his cheeks and suggest kissing there instead. 

"Would you consent to a polygraph?" Xeno asked then, looking back to Stanley, his eyes serious. 

"Huh...?" Stanley blinked slowly, "a what...?"

"A polygraph. More commonly known as a lie detector." 

"Oh- uh, sure? Wait-" Stanley's face twisted, tilting as his eyes narrowed down at his friend, "do you  _ have  _ one?! Where the hell do you get one of those?"

"Well, no," Xeno's head tilted upwards now, eyes searching the sky as he was lost in thought once more. "but I  _ do  _ have the tools to make one quite easily. It wouldn't take too long to set up." Xeno gave a nod to himself now, excited eyes meeting Stanley's, "would you really? Do you have plans after this?"

"Uh, no plans, not really" Stanley couldn't help but stare worried at Xeno's enthusiastic expression. Did he just accidentally agree to partake in some weird experiment...? "Just ignore some homework and do the usual hanging around..." 

"Great!" Xeno walked right past Stanley once more, this time back to his car, his bad mood seeming completely gone. 

Stanley followed, slowly, a chuckle leaving him as he watched Xeno excitedly open the car door. He dodged a bullet, at least. Even if Xeno could build a makeshift poly-whatever, Stanley wasn't lying. Hell, playing taxi for his aunt was the main reason he kept falling asleep in social studies that day. As Stanley got into the driver's seat he peered over to his friend, Xeno's face holding such a bright smile. Was he thinking about the science stuff he gets to play with as soon as they made it to his house? Or was it about spending the day with Stan...?

Stanley started his car, the engine thankfully starting up with only one key turn this time. 

It would be nice if Xeno was beaming over him. 

* * *

There was way more weird science crap in Xeno's room now. Stanley peered over them all, unsure what most of them were, only a few of them triggering a memory of Xeno explaining (in great detail) what they were. A lot of the more kiddish stuff was gone, replaced by posters of space shuttles and graphs that Stanley couldn't wrap his mind around. The last time Stanley had been there was maybe six or so months ago, the room now beginning to look cluttered with the new equipment.

In a way, it made Stanley feel a bit bad. Most of their elementary and middle school years were spent at each other's houses, as kids playing games and being rambunctious and as young teens just enjoying hanging out. But high school was different. Different crowds took both of them into vastly contrasting places. Stanley had a new pack of friends who were more eager to party or help steal some cigarettes and booze from the local convenience stores. And Xeno, well. Xeno had his experiments, and perhaps a few friends in the science clubs. Stanley never had the courage to ask, afraid that Xeno's friend circle was small, or maybe even non existent. 

Stanley walked then to Xeno's bed, the only other place to sit seeing as Xeno already busied himself at his computer desk. Before he sat, he flashed his pack of cigarettes to his friend, "can I smoke in here?" It was again more proof that Stanley hadn't been around in a long while, last time he was here he wasn't even smoking yet. 

Xeno turned in his chair, revealing a massive array of strange cords and other weird parts in his hands. "Ah," he stared at the pack of cigarettes before nodding towards the bedroom window, "by the window, please." 

Stanley nodded, at least Xeno wasn't chastising him over his smoking habit or anything. He made his way to the window, opening it before sitting on the ledge, knocking out a cigarette from the pack. Once lit, he took a long drag, eyes watching his friend carefully.

Xeno moved around the room silently, mumbling to himself as he placed things in certain places. None of it made sense to Stanley, though he expected that. Cords, metal bits, a dozen or more programs brought up on Xeno's computer screen. 

"You sure this will work...?" Stanley asked, making sure to blow his smoke out the window. "Doesn't it take one of those big machines that draws lines back and forth?" 

Xeno gave a small laugh to Stanley's words, "that's the actual polygraph machine, but we can emulate one just fine on the computer. The important part is how we are getting your readings." He began then to point at a number of things laid out on his bed, "blood pressure, breath rate, and sweat. Those are the three main things I will be monitoring." 

Stanley took in another slow drag, brows knitting at the mess of equipment, "you make it look like any kid with some cable cords and a computer could do this." 

"Oh, well, there's  _ much  _ more to it than that," Xeno said then, sitting back at his computer, "in truth, I am modding the set up quite a bit, but it will work just fine for now." 

Stanley only nodded, cigarette close to his mouth, watching as his friend typed and clicked away at graphs and programs. All of this for... what? To see if he was fibbing over some lip gloss...? Going through with it wasn't a big deal, he would do it for Xeno, his excitement about attempting such an experiment the main reason Stanley even agreed. Even still, something in Stanley's stomach couldn't stop from giving a small twist, the thought that there was a possibility that this wasn't about the chance to do a science project and more about Xeno's distrust in him. 

"All right, you can come over," Xeno said with a simple wave of his hand. 

Stanley rubbed the butt of his cigarette on the window sill, tossing the remains into a nearby trashcan before walking back to Xeno. He sat on the bed as directed, Xeno quickly coming over to begin hooking Stanley up to a number of things. It was... a  _ lot _ . Cuffs around his arm, wires tied around his chest, little metal plates hooked to two of his fingers. He could barely  _ move _ , let alone think about lying. 

"And here I thought it was just some of those little circular things that doctors slap on you when they want to monitor stuff," Stanley mumbled out, his arm twisting as he looked everything over.

"Oh, I don't have any EKG equipment," Xeno said with a nod, taking his seat again, "though, I have been meaning to get my hands on some soon." 

"Of course you are."

Xeno only beamed once more, Stanley's playful teasing seeming to excite him. He turned in his seat then, moving around the programs on his computer. "All right. Tell me your name." 

Stanley blinked slowly, "uh, okay. Stanley Synder." 

Xeno nodded slowly, Stanley leaning a bit to get a better look at the screen. Three colored graphs were slowly moving, monitoring him. Saying his name didn't seem to make any of the graphs jump. 

"Okay. Now, give me a lie, so we can test it out. Uh," Xeno looked up, thinking for a quick moment, "what color is your hair?"

Stanley felt oddly put on the spot. Would the machine, or more the program, know that it was a lie if he was  _ told  _ to lie...? "Black," Stanley said slowly, "jet black". He leaned again to watch the screen, eyes wide as he watched the green middle bar suddenly shoot upwards, far above the others. 

"What the hell," his voice seemed shaky, technology proving as usual how terrifying it could be. He looked down at the items he was hooked into, "how accurate  _ are  _ these things?" 

Xeno's smile was wide, his entire face full of life as he dug out a notebook and a nearby pen, quickly scribbling down notes. "Around eighty-five to ninety-five percent. The margin is enough that it is not used as scientific evidence in some criminal cases, but it'll do just fine for tonight". He turned his smile to Xeno then, eyes for once not showing deep bags, "but we should do a few more tests, just to be sure." 

"Right," Stanley slowly nodded. Hopefully that margin of error didn't mess up and throw in a lie when he was actually telling the truth. He had no intention of lying to Xeno. Hell, his lie earlier was only for a joke. One that backfired, royally, enough to land him in a bed and covered in wires. 

More questions were thrown Stanley's way, all of them very obvious truth or lies, all ringing perfect on the computer's graphs. Each time, Xeno took notes in his notebook, rolling his chair over periodically to poke at or readjust some of the equipment that Stanley was tied up in. Stanley gladly let it happen, enjoying the soft amusement in Xeno's face, only regretting the fact that he hadn't really spent time with his childhood friend in so long. 

Eventually, Xeno gave a small nod. "Okay," his pen tapped nervously at his notebook, drawing an array of small dots. "That lipstick," he began, Stanley able to see the way his eyebrows slowly furrowed down, "who does it belong to...?" 

"I told you, I have no idea," Stanley gave a small sigh, really hoping that not knowing  _ which  _ of those women it came from would mess up the graphs. "I guess it was probably my aunt, since she was the one sitting in the front seat." As soon as he finished, he began to lean forward on the bed, hoping none of the bars would jump around. Shouldn't they stick to easy yes or no questions, or stuff that needed one word answers...? 

"Hmm," Xeno hummed softly, making a single mark on his notebook. "I suppose you  _ are  _ telling the truth." 

" _ Wow _ , big shocker," Stanley let out, his voice monotone. "Again, it was just a lame joke." 

Xeno didn't answer back, pen again tapping away at the paper in front of him, though his eyes were locked on the monitors slowly creating their lines. Something about his body seemed nervous, as if he was entirely uninterested in continuing at that point. They could stop, at any time... Was Stanley telling the truth not the desired answer that Xeno wanted...?

"May I... ask you a few other questions?" Xeno said then, eyes low, not looking Stanley's way. 

Stanley's brows furrowed for a moment, his body beginning to feel tense. "Yes...?" 

His answer caused Xeno to snap his head to look at him, "that made you nervous," he said it while pointing his pen to the computer screen. 

Stanley's stare to Xeno began to narrow. "Yeah? I'm in the dark here, I have no idea what you're planning anymore." Maybe this  _ wasn't  _ about the lip gloss. 

"Do you have any deep and hidden secrets that you keep from me?" Despite the question feeling accusative, Xeno's eyes stayed calm, locked on Stanley's. 

"No?" Stanley's irritation was growing, it showing in his voice. He didn't come over here to be grilled or suddenly put on trial for crimes he never even committed. Xeno never cared this much before, so why now, when he was locked in to all these damn cords and wires?

Xeno turned his head back now to the screen, giving a small curious hum as his eyes scanned the graphs. "I suppose that's true." 

"No shit," Stanley gave a sigh as he tried to calm his stirring impatience with all of this. "It's like we've shared almost everything since we were kids. I mean, I don't plan on telling you where my porno stash is..." 

Xeno was busy again, face down and making more notes in his notebook. "You have a folder on your computer, hidden within other folders, with an innocent and unsuspecting name."

Stanley's gaze immediately narrowed, his stomach feeling sick once more. "How... the  _ hell  _ did you know that?" Stanley's computer was shit compared to Xeno's modded and much fancier one, and it was  _ also  _ a shared computer, but he couldn't remember a time that Xeno had recently used it... 

"Honestly?" Xeno peered over, his smile small but sweet and innocent, "it was a guess. But really, you should be careful. Going onto websites and saving content like that opens you up to countless viruses and malware." 

Both of Stanley's eyebrows slowly raised, soon rolling his eyes as he waved off Xeno's comments. "Whatever, just...! Go on with your damn questions." The hell would he know, anyway? Did Xeno frequent those sorts of sites...? The obvious answer had to be a big and bold  _ no _ , if anything Xeno just knew about computer viruses more than porn. Whatever - Stanley had a more impressive stash of magazines hidden far beneath his bed, which was way better than the stuff he tried to hide away on a computer. 

Xeno still smiled contentedly to Stanley's words, turning again to his computer. He clicked away at his program for a moment, soon going back to twirling his pen slowly. Once again he seemed to be stuck trying to think of a question, or at least stuck in trying to get the words to come out. 

"Have you..." he started, though he took a moment to pause, perhaps trying to properly word his sentence? "ever had girls, from our school, in your car...?" 

Oh.  _ Damn _ . That was a loaded question. Stanley arched an eyebrow, wondering why Xeno would really care so much, Xeno  _ knew  _ that Stanley's friend group had a few girls in it. "Yeah," he said, flatly, not having to look at the computer screen to know that not a single one of the graphs spiked. 

Xeno took only a moment to watch the lines dance across his computer, soon nodding. He was twirling the pen more now, a subconscious nervous tick. "Did you ever," once again, he paused, staring down at his hands, "do anything with them? I- I mean, uh. Ro-... mantically..." 

Oh.  _ Okay _ . 

"No." Again, Stanley's voice was flat, but his mood was quickly picking up. So  _ that's  _ what this was about. It took a lot of his willpower to not show the emotion building up high in his chest. Xeno was  _ jealous _ . Of course he was. It was fucking obvious, Stanley almost felt like a total dumb ass for not fully seeing it before. Xeno wasn't looking for an easy experiment...  _ Okay _ , actually, Xeno was always looking for a reason to experiment on something or someone, but the deeper point of all of this wasn't accusing Stanley of lying. It was just a really,  _ really  _ weird way of trying to flirt. 

Which was honestly right up Xeno's alley. 

Stanley watched as Xeno nodded as he read the chart. He wanted to question why a lot of the questions had to do with girls, though he figured digging that deep into their sexualities wasn't the best just then. Besides, Xeno  _ was  _ the one asking questions, here. 

Xeno was stalling again, seeming to write in his notepad, but it was easy to see that the marks he was making was nothing but nonsense. There was a lick to his lips before he spoke, another quick nervous tick that Xeno was probably unaware of, "have you.... kissed someone before...? A real kiss." Xeno's voice was low, though with only the two of them in the room it was easy to hear his soft words. He was doing his best, a smile pulling at Stanley's lips. 

"Yeah," again, there was really no point in holding back, not when Xeno could see any little bit of nervousness in Stanley's body. "They never meant much, though," he continued then with a shrug. If Xeno wanted to know more, Stanley had no issue telling him about each and every one. Stan, up until that point, didn't really have much of a dating record. Xeno knew that, if Stanley ever acted interested in someone Xeno was usually the first to know. Even still, kisses were purely for... experimentation. 

Xeno only nodded, though, tapping the back of his pen against the notebook, even his knee was beginning to bounce in his seat. Stanley watched with a tilted head, never actually seeing Xeno this worked up before. Then again, Xeno also rarely ever took the initiative, especially with something like this. The questions may have been easy to answer, as loaded as they were, but Xeno was the one having trouble even asking them. 

Stanley tapped his foot against the ground, debating asking his friend if they should just stop there. They could try again another day, or honestly Stanley could just flat out say the things that Xeno was  _ trying  _ to get the courage to ask. 

But before Stanley could fully consider it, Xeno spoke again, his voice soft again, "back there, in the parking lot. Why did you kiss my forehead like that...?" 

The first words to come to Stanley's head were simply 'it was a joke'. But that wasn't the full truth. Would a half-lie pick up on the bouncing charts? Instead, Stanley gave a sigh, his arms crossing in front of him, wires and cords tangling more as he did. "I don't know. Figured you'd look cute with a forehead full of kiss marks." 

Xeno's head quickly snapped over, not even looking at the graphs to check if Stanley was lying. "Cute?!" He spat out, cheeks growing flushed now. The face he was making was the original one Stanley was trying to obtain hours ago, after he placed the dozens of kisses all over his friend, furrowed brows and pink cheeks. "You think I'm....  _ cute _ ?"

Stanley blinked slowly, eyes flicking to look at Xeno's computer before back to him. "Is this a question you're trying to test me on?" 

Xeno was silent, eyes careful and surveying Stanley's every move. "...Yes," he finally let out, eyes still peering deep into Stanley's, refusing to look away. 

"Hmm," Stanley hummed softly, giving a shrug to his shoulders, "then yeah, real cute." 

The second the words left Stanley's mouth, Xeno was looking back to his screen, eyes darting across all three charts. Stanley leaned forward as well, watching how none of them jumped or danced at all. Normal, all of them, simply traveling along in their readings. Looking back to Xeno, Stanley saw his fingertips were now anxiously pressing together repeatedly. Was he going to ask another question...?

"Would you..." Xeno was stuck in another pause, licking at dry lips, "kiss me again?"

Oh. This whole ordeal was becoming pretty cute too, actually. Xeno was always able to do that, being one of the few things Stanley actually found absolutely adorable. Though, Xeno actually flirting back, even if in this weird way with dozens of wires and a blood pressure cuff on his arm, was still something Stanley didn't prepare for.

Stanley's own crush on Xeno was something he never really acted on, afraid it would scare Xeno away entirely. How long had it even been? Years, probably. Back during the days when Xeno would go on and on about space travel and distant planets or even more 'simple' things like physics and wild theories. Stanley would always stare at him, entirely content with listening despite only understanding maybe half of what Xeno said, enraptured only with the way Xeno's eyes would light up when he could talk about the things he loved. 

High school changed a lot of things. New friend crowds were  _ still  _ changing a lot of things. But that crush never left, only leaving Stanley with the desire to fluster Xeno whenever he could get the chance, desperate to see his cheeks flush or his cute mouth begin to pout, even if the only way he knew how to get those results was through playful teasing. He could have just come out and said it, but losing what friendship they had left during a time where it already felt like they were drifting apart... 

But here Xeno was, fingers nervously tapping against one another, asking if Stanley would  _ kiss _ him. 

"If given the chance?" Stanley began, starting to lean forward on the bed, really wanting to read Xeno's expression, "yeah." 

Xeno's eyes never left the graphs, though his shoulders began to tense. 

"Would you kiss me for  _ real,  _ though?" Xeno said then, quicker than all the other questions, getting it out as fast as he could. 

Stanley's eyes narrowed at his friend, "define real?" 

"You know exactly what I mean," Xeno spat out then, shoulders tensing further. A quick laugh fell from Stanley - he couldn't help it - Xeno really was just trying  _ so hard _ . 

"Well then, yes. I will." 

Immediately Xeno's shoulders relaxed, a sigh seeming to leave his body. "Will," he repeated, the single word seeming to be the result he was looking for with all of this testing. Though, the word also caused Xeno's brows to furrow down, twisting to look to Stanley, " _ will? _ "

Stanley didn't answer Xeno at all, standing up now, completely tangled in the mess of wires. "We're done here, right?" 

Panic was quickly flowing through Xeno now, his hands raising as if to keep Stanley from booking it out of the room with all of the equipment still connected to him. "Ah, uh, yes, I suppose we are," he glanced for a moment to the program on his computer, "you didn't lie at all, except on the test questions." 

"Good, your makeshift machine works. Now stand up." 

The order caused Xeno to slowly look up, tentative eyebrows barely seen beneath his messy hair. 

" _ Come on _ , stand up," Stanley said again, waving his arms a bit, the cords around him shaking, "I can barely move in all of this stuff." 

It took a few moments, Xeno finally standing slowly, his shorter height still making him have to look up to meet Stanley's eyes. 

"Right, so. First of all," the cords made it hard to move, but Stanley still managed to raise his hands high, flowing through Xeno's hair and pushing back his fringe, " _ there's _ that face." Stanley watched as Xeno's cheeks slowly began to grow more flushed, his dark eyes quickly darting between Stanley's, Xeno entirely unsure where he was supposed to look. A small laugh left Stanley, digging now into his pocket, "maybe we should hook  _ you  _ up to all this stuff and see what your levels are at." 

Xeno let out a laugh now, though it was short and nervous, "all three graphs would be off the charts, I'm sure." 

"Heh, see?" Stanley chuckled softly, now pulling the lip gloss tube from his pocket. "You're cute." 

Stanley opened it up with a quick twist, Xeno staring at the black tube with troubled eyes. His stare only grew more uneasy as Stanley slowly started to coat his lips with the glossy liquid. 

"W-wait, wait," Xeno was holding up his hands now, "I didn't... agree to that stuff." 

"What? You know now that it doesn't belong to some random chick, so it's fine." Stanley began to rub his lips together, coating both of them fully, the fruity sent hitting his senses once again. 

"So? It still belongs to someone else! It's unsanitary, and a bit weird!" 

"Uh huh," both lips were fully done now, Stanley tossing the tube behind him and somewhere onto Xeno's bed. 

Xeno quickly huffed in response, taking a single step backwards, eyes scrutinizing, "why is lipstick so important?" 

"One," Stanley grabbed at Xeno's chin, stepping forward, Xeno's face immediately turning a dark shade of pink. "This is lip  _ gloss _ . Lipstick is different." 

Despite his reddening face, Xeno shot an annoyed look up at Stanley, "how would I know that?" 

"Two," Stanley continued then, grin growing as he began to move closer, watching as Xeno's eyes quickly darted down to watch as their lips began to close into one another, "you said you wanted a  _ real  _ kiss." 

Xeno's brows furrowed deeply down, lips pursing up into a pout, shooting a deep glare back at Stanley. "I fail to see how a layer of fruity scented  _ gloss  _ on your lips makes a kiss any more or any less real." 

"Uh huh, let me hear you say that again in a few minutes," Stanley again began to move in, though stopped as soon as he saw Xeno's eyes quickly screw shut, his entire body beginning to tense again. One of Stanley's eyebrows slowly arched, head tilting as he watched Xeno. Was he even breathing? Was he actually holding his breath...? Stanley hadn't even  _ kissed  _ him yet. Fuck. How the hell could he actually be this adorable? 

"Why... are your eyes all scrunched up like that," Stanley asked then, a small chuckle leaving him. 

Xeno's body flinched softly in front of him, Xeno breathing deeply, "th-this is just part of protocol, I know this much." 

Oh. Stanley bit at his lip as a wide grin grew on his face. "You're really going to have to stop saying such cute things, It's dangerous for me," Stanley let go of Xeno's chin then, only to gently take Xeno's jawline into both of his hands, holding his face tenderly in place as he moved in, their lips finally meeting. 

It was small - chaste even, maybe only lasting a few seconds, Stanley able to feel Xeno's shaky breath falling against him. Pulling back, Stanley gazed down at the serene look on Xeno's face, his body finally relaxed now, eyes slowly opening, though his eyes did not move up to look at Stanley. Instead, his stare stayed low, allowing Stanley to view his dark eyes through thick eyelashes. 

Xeno licked at his lips - entirely unaware at how erotic a sight it was in that moment, but those were thoughts that Stanley quickly hushed. "Watermelon...?" he asked then, licking again to get more of the gloss Stanley left behind. 

"I think it's fruit punch," Stanley said with a quick shrug, a smile forming again. 

Xeno nodded to his words, a deep breath bringing his tone back to a much more normal level, "strange for makeup companies to make something taste nice when the goal is to not eat it from your lips. Wouldn't this just entice people to lick it away as soon as it's there?" 

A short and sudden laugh came from Stanley, followed by a much more boisterous one, his shoulders quaking with it. Was this rambling of his an attempt to calm his nerves? Xeno's face was still flushed, hands tangled together, obviously still flustered at all of this. Xeno couldn't even look at Stanley in the face. "Don't change the subject" he said then, a few final chuckles leaving him, "you're not finished." 

Xeno finally did look up now, a single eyebrow beginning to arch, "Are we not...?"

A smirk grew on Stanley's lips, quickly licking at them as he moved in, "that wasn't the  _ real  _ part."

Their lips met again, this time Stanley quickly opening his mouth, letting his tongue run across both Xeno's bottom and upper lip. They parted, possibly for Xeno to ask what Stanley thought he was doing, but before any voice could come out Stanley pressed his tongue further into Xeno's mouth, feeling the gasp from the shorter boy vibrate against it. It was so short, almost a whimper, something that could only register as an additive sort of music to Stanley's ears. How the hell could he be so cute from just being kissed?

Stanley tried to savor it, Xeno's mouth tasting sweet from the lip gloss. His thumbs danced across Xeno's cheeks, softly petting at him, coaxing him to stay calm as Stanley slowly explored his mouth. Xeno's own tongue stayed nearly limp against his, entirely unsure what to do, but that was completely fine. He'd just need a bit of training.

Going at it for too long would just overwhelm Xeno, Stanley pulling back after a short while, keeping their faces close enough to feel Xeno's hot breath against his lips. Glancing down, Stanley watched as Xeno began to lick at his own lips, a sight that caused the taller boy to gulp down. That was  _ really  _ nice. Maybe a bit too nice. Stanley began to lick at his own in return, wanting to move back in and gently begin biting down on Xeno's bottom lip, but he restrained himself. 

"You taste sweet, Xeno," Stanley said instead, hands still softly holding Xeno's jawline, coaxing Xeno to lock eyes with him. Such dark eyes, lids heavy and causing his stare to become half-lidded, cheeks still coated with a light shade of pink. Stanley leaned forward once more, this time to press his forehead to the one below him, not even caring about the scattered kiss marks that still sat there, "did I taste sweet, too?" It was a bit of an odd question, but in all truth Stanley was only looking to fluster Xeno more, desperate for those cheeks to grow a darker shade of red. 

A hum came from the shorter boy, lips and eyes closing shut as he began to think. "You tasted... like tobacco and smoke, with a hint of berries..." 

"Mmhmm?" Stanley finally let go of Xeno's jawline then, slowly traveling down. If he could just make it to Xeno's waist line, grab at his hips.. he had no intention of taking things too far, but being able to hold Xeno by his waist was a desire that wouldn't leave the back of Stanley's mind. "And? Was it nice?" 

Before Stanley could wrap his hands around Xeno's waist, his friend was pulling back, face entirely nonchalant as he shook his head, "no actually, not one bit." 

Stanley paused, mind running blank, hands still slightly outstretched where Xeno's waist  _ would  _ have been. 

Xeno's head tilted at Stanley's odd stance, a finger beginning to press at his chin. "The kiss part was just fine, though I think the tongue stuff I will have to get used to. I was not prepared for that at all, you should have given me proper warning." 

"Just...  _ fine _ ?" Stanley was locked on that, hands falling down to his sides. 

"Well, yes," Xeno just nodded, quite positive in his assessment, "I have nothing to compare it to." 

"So shouldn't it be the best you've had?!" 

Xeno's brows began to furrow, his arms crossing, " _ only _ does not mean  _ best _ . I'll just need to conduct more research to reach a more correct analysis." 

Stanley's stare stayed for a while, eyes blinking slowly before a laugh came from him, a hand reaching up to run through his hair. "I get it," he started, shaking his head a bit. "Clever. I like that."

Xeno seemed to beam brightly at the compliment, his cheeks growing pink again, his arms folding behind his back. 

Stanley stepped forward again, or at least as forward as the damn cords would let him, face closing in once again to Xeno's. "Maybe I can get you addicted to the taste of tobacco." 

"That would be a very hard task, though I would be happy to participate in the trials." A single good kiss and Xeno's confidence seemed to have soared, bringing another chuckle from Stanley. 

"Is the only way to get you to stop spouting off science bull to kiss you?" 

A single nod came from Xeno, "yes." 

A wide and toothy grin formed on Stanley's face. His hands moved forward again, this time wrapping slowly around the back of Xeno's head, cupping at the nape of his neck. Their lips met, the kiss this time staying just as simple as their first, though somehow it felt more powerful. Maybe it was the hand on Xeno's neck pulling him further into it, or perhaps the way Xeno's hands fell against Stanley's chest, fists softly grabbing at the fabric of his shirt. 

As soon as they broke, a laugh suddenly left Stanley, the entire situation fully registering in his mind. "Kissing you for the first time and I'm hooked to a shitload of cords that are hooked into your computer," he pulled back, looking around at the set up, even more tangled now than it was before. "Yeah," he said with a chuckling sigh, "yeah, this sounds about right, with you."

That bright smile was back, "If you are willing, I had a few more things I would love to try with the polygraph set up."

"Uh huh," Stanley stepped back now, "this really  _ was  _ just a reason to get me to come over so I can be your guinea pig." 

Xeno's smile turned sweet then as he sat back down in his computer chair, hands folded in his lap, "yes, it was part of the reason."

At least he was being honest. Stanley's smile grew to match Xeno's, watching as his friend slowly turned in his chair, contented hands sorting his notes. His hair wasn't as slicked back as before, but it still stayed mostly back, showing off the entirety of his face. "You should keep your hair like that from now on. It really does look nice on you." 

Xeno's hand reached upwards, head tilting back as he did, though this time he did not mess it up like before. "You really think so?" 

"Check your damn charts," Stanley nodded his head towards Xeno's computer, "I'm not lying." 

Xeno did, eyes scanning at the computer. Stanley wasn't even sure if he was still hooked up properly, but Xeno stayed silent, only watching the lines dance. 

With a sigh, Stanley continued. "Okay, how about this. Each morning, right before school, I'll give you a kiss. But only if you wear your hair that way."

Xeno's head turned then, eyes blinking, "before school? Where, exactly? I'd rather not kiss in front of the student body, there's no need for us to put on a show. Also," he was beginning to ramble now, holding a finger up, "would you be wearing lipstick again? If so, at least buy some of your own, stop using stuff that belongs to other people, it really  _ does  _ put you at risk for a number of viruses and--" 

" _ We _ can  _ find _ ," Stanley interrupted, pausing with his eyebrows raised to see if Xeno was done. Xeno did become quiet, though his lips quickly pursed up into a pout. "A nice, secluded space, no one will see us," he continued, beginning to wave his hand, the wires and cords shaking beneath his arm, "and  _ sure _ , I'll buy my own lipstick, or gloss, whatever. You can even pick out the colors."

Xeno's pout turned slowly into a smile, his eyes creasing with it, "we could test out a few colors, perhaps," his gaze moved back to his computer, pen twirling between his fingers once again. "are you trying to bribe me to change my hairstyle with the promise of more kisses?" 

"Is it working...?" Stanley asked slowly, sitting back down onto the bed, watching as Xeno's smile only grew, pen back on paper as more notes were being written down. 

"It's too early in the experiment to tell."  


* * *

**Author's Note:**

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> 
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